Trimming machines



Feb. 7, 1961 c.F. FITZGERALD TRIMMING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledApril 15,.` 1959 Inventor WJVGQ Feb. v7, 1961 c, F. FITZGERALD 2,970,329

TRIMMING MACHINES Filed April 15, 1959 5 sheets-sheet z Feb. 7, 1961c.'F. FITZGERALD TRIMMING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 15,l1959 United States Patent C) TRMMING MACHINES Charles F. Fitzgerald,Beverly, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation,Flemington, NJ., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Apr. 15, 1959, Ser.No. 806,673

8 Claims. (C1. 12-4.3)

This invention relates to machines for performing trimming operations onshoe bottoms and more particularly to machines for trimming the inseamsof partially fabricated welt shoes. A machine of this type is disclosedin United States Letters Patent No. 1,226,872, granted May 22, 1917, toAndrew Eppler. It is to be understood, however, that in certain aspectsthereof, thel invention is not limited to inseam trimming machines butis applicable generally to trimming machines which operate progressivelyabout a shoe bottom to remove excess material therefrom.

The patent to Eppler discloses an inseam trimming machine by whichsurplus portions of the inseam are severed by a cup-shaped trimmingknife which cuts the inseam material into long thin strips comprisingupper leather, insole rib material, canvas reinforcing material and atar-like substance from the box toe or stIffening material, etc. It hasbeen found difficult to remove these long strips efficiently bymechanical means from within the cup of the knife and from the trimmingarea generally and frequently the machine must be stopped and the stripsremoved manually. 'This problem has been recognized and one solutionoffered in United States Letters Patent No. 2,750,608, granted lune 19,1956, to John M. vWhelton, wherein there is disclosed a trimming machinehaving a rotary chopping cutter which severs the inseam substance intosmall chips which are subjected to the action of an exhaust fan toremove them from the machine. A similar cutter is shown in United StatesLetters Patent No. 2,802,225, issued August 13, 1957, to Joseph C.Cantley. In both the Whelton and Can'ley machines the rotary choppingcutters produce two distinct cuts in the inseam material, one extendingsubstantially parallel to the shoe bottom and the second substantiallynormal thereto whereupon the surplus inseam material is severed from theshoe bottom and also chopped into small chips by a single cutter stroke.This results in the cutter being subjected to considerable amounts ofvibration and shock which requires that the cutter have extreme strengthand durability. In fact, the cutters employed in the above-identifiedmachine utilize hardened tips, such as tungsten carbide or similarmaterial inserts and also must be journaled in rigidly mounted bearingsall of which adds greatly to their cost.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide atrimming machine having an improved organization of cutting and feedingelements arranged to facilitate rapid and automatic removal of materialcut from the inseam substance.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved inseamtrimming machine having means for severing the surplus portions of theinseam from the shoe bottom into small chips which may be readilyremoved from the machine.

Applicant has found that by employing a mechanism similar to thatdisclosed in the above-identified Epp'er patent, to wit, the rotarycup-shaped trimming knife which cuts the inseam material into long thinstrips, as do ICC most of the present day commercial machines, and byutilizing a separate mechanism for chopping the' strips into smallchips, a far more economical machine may be produced than the singlechopping cutter type. This is primarily because the same rigidity andprecision of construction is not required as in a machine which performsthis operation by a single cutter.

To this end applicant has produced a machine having substantially thesame feeding and trimming elements as in the above-identified Epplerpatent plus the addition of a rotatable chopping cutter to chop thestrips of inseam material into small chips after the strips have beenremoved from the shoe by the rotary knife. This is accomplished bylocating a chopping cutter within the cupshaped knife in such positionthat the elongated chips which are severed by the knife are directedinto the path of the cutter. The cutter employed for this purpose is amulti-blade sharpened rotor which requires no special inserts and whichdoes not require precision manufacture since it does not engage the shoebottom as does the cutter in both the Whelton and Cantley machines. Inother words, since applicants cutter acts only on the strip after it issevered from the shoe bottom, it need not be constructed with theprecision required in a cutter which acts on the shoe bottom directly toadminister a finished cut thereto.

These and other features of the invention and the advantages gainedthereby will best be understood from a consideration of the followingspecification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the head of an inseam trimming machineembodying the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the portion of the machine shown .in Fig.l;

Fig. 3 is a detailed perspective view, partly in section and on anenlarged scale, of the trimming knife and chopping cutter; and

Fig. 4 is a detailed perspective view of the chopping cutter andcooperating chopping mechanism.

The usual arrangement of the feeding and trimming instrumentalities ofan inseam trimmer is employed in the illustrative machine which in manyrespects is similar to that shown in the above-identified Eppler patentto which reference may be had for a more detailed description of thecommon parts. A rotary cutter in the form of a knife 2 identical withthat of the Eppler machine is employed to trim the inseam. Cooperatingwith the knife to feed and trim the shoe are a driven feed wheel 4 and awelt crease guide 6 plus a rib guide 8 all mounted adjacent the loweredge or cutting point of the knife 2. The welt crease guide 6 is shapedand mounted on the machine to enter the crease between the grain side orupper engaging surface of the welt and the upper leather to press thewelt against the feed wheel 4 and also to restrict lateral movement ofthe shoe inwardly of the machine. The feed wheel 4 has a knurledfrustoconical periphery 10 engageable with the flesh side or out-A soleattaching surface of the Welt opposite the welt crease guide, it beingnoted that a shoe is maintained bottom upwards when being trimmed. Therib guide 8 is engageable with the inner surface of the insole rib andmay be either non-rotatable, mounted for idling rotation or power drivenas it actually is in many commercialv machines. In the present machineit is rotatably mounted' adjacent the feed wheel 4 and welt crease guide6 by' means hereinafter to be described.

The machine has a main frame 12 in which is journaled a main drive shaft14 which receives its power from any convenient means, as for example, amotor driven belt and pulley 16 (Fig. l). The shaft 14 is driven ina'clockwise direction when viewed in the direction of feed,

, 3 as seen in Fig. 2, which represents the right-hand or feeding sideof the machine as seen by the operator. AThe welt crease guide 6comprises an idler wheel mounted for rotation on a stud i8 threaded inthe forward end of a 1ever'20 which is pivoted in the machine frame on astud 22. Y`The welt crease guide is`biased upwardly-toward the `feedWheel 4 to grip the welt, by a compression spring j(not shown) withinthe frame. To release the welt crease guide 6 from its gripping positionin order to insert a shoe, the operator depresses a rod 2d, whichextends vvertically thro-ugh the frame of the machine, by a treadle (notshown).

The rib guide 8 is mounted for rotation at the lower end o-f an L-shapedbracket 26 which is secured by a screw 28 to a mounting plate 30 whichin turn is secured by screws 32 to the lower end of a bracket 3d, theupper end of which is mounted for pivotal movement about a shaft'36(Fig. 2) .xedin the upper portion ofthe machine frame. lAlso secured byAthe screws 3?, to the bracket 34 is a cutter guard 35 which surroundsthe front peripheral portion o-f the knife 2 to protect the operatorduring the trimming operation. As in the prior art machines, the pivotalmotion `of the bracket 34. and, hence, of the rib guide 3 is controlledby a lever arm 4% which has its rearward end attached to the treadle rod24 by lock nuts 42. When the rod 24 is moved downwardly, the lever il isrotated in ya clockwise direction about the shaft 36, hence the ribguide bracket 3d, which is adj'ustably connected to the lever di?, isalso rotated in a clockwise direction about the shaft 367m move vthe ribguide 8 out of operative position to permit a shoe to be inserted in themachine. Simultaneously, movement of the treadle rod 24 causes the lever20 to pivot in acounterclockwise direction about the fulcrum stud 22whereby the welt crease guide 6 moves downwardly away from the feedwheel 4 in order that the welt of a shoe to be trimmed may be insertedbetween the welt crease guide and the feed wheel. When the treadle isreleased, the rib guide 8 moves with pressure against the inner surfaceof the inseam which pressure continues during the trimming process. Allof the abo-ve-described feed mechanism is similar to that disclosed inthe prior art and operates in a like manner as illustrated bytheidentied patent to Eppler. Furthermore, the knife 2 operates in amanner similar to that of the corresponding Eppler knife for severingsurplus material from the inseam of a partially fabricated shoe. Asstated above, this surplus material is normally removed in thin stripswhich are difficult to remove from the rotating cup knife and 'theremaining portions of the machine as well.

Referring to Fig. 3, the trimming knife 2 will be seen in operativerelationship to a partially fabricated shoe shown in section and mountedon a last in which the following elements are included: A l-ast Sil, aninsole 52, a welt 5d, a preformed insole rib V56, a lining 5S, .upperleather 6i) and with the usual portions of these .elements forming theupstanding inseam designated 62.

In order to facilitate the remo-val of the severed portions of theinseam which is shown in Pig. 3 beginning to curl upwardly in the areadesignated 64, there is provided a chopping cutter 66 vand a cooperatingshear block 68. The chopping cutter in its illustrated form comprisesapair of diametrically opposed blades 70 (Fig. 4) extending outwardlyfrom a hub 72. .The cutteris secured by a screw 74 to a shaft 76 whichextends substantially parallel with the axisof rotationAof the cutter 2.The shaft 76 is so positioned that its axis of rotationB and likewisethat of the cutter is parallel to the laxis Aof the trimming knife 2.The cutter rotates close to the inner periphery of the knife 2 .adjacent.the trimming point, which is the lowermost point on its periphery,Yjust inwardly of the knife to chop the inseam strip intosmall chipsjust after it hasbeen severed from thershoe. The blades 70 of thecuttercooperate with asurface V80 formed 4 1 on the shear block 68 andproducen cut in a substantially vertical plane. While it is desirablethat there be metal-to-metal or shearing contact between the blades 7i)and the surface Si? it is not required to produce a cut. The block 63provides a back-up or resistance member for the strip of inseam and thesharpened blades 70 can cut it into chips without actually touching thesurface 80.

The shear block 68 is mounted by a pair of screws 82 at the lower end ofa removable housing 84 (Fig. 2) which forms part of the outer portion ofthe machine frame. The housing 84 is of irregular conguratiornits upperportio-n fitting snugly within an opening 86 in the frame and is securedtherein by a removable stud 88. In effect, the outside of the housing 84constitutes a part of the outer wall of the machine frame. The innerportion of the housing S4- is hollow and constitutes the lower portionof a waste removal conduit having anv opening 87 in close proximitywithrthe periphery .of the trimming knife. After the chips aresevered'by the chopping cutter 66 they are removed through the opening357 of waste removal conduit and thence through a continuing :conduit S8which leads either to an exhaust fan or `a factory dus-t removal system.

YThe means for rotating the chopping cutter will Anow be described.rl'he shaft 76 on which the cutter is mounted rotates in a bearing 96which is secured to the lower end of the removable housing 84. Theshaftfmounts a gear 92 which meshes with a gear 94 secured to a shaft 96which rotates in a bearing 9% likewise mounted on the housing 84. Theshaft 96, and hence the cutter, derive their power-from la pulley 100which is driven froma belt 1M. This belt passes around a pulley 104whichY is mounted on the same shaft 166 as a second pulley 103, which,by a belt Mtl, derivesy power` from themainidrive shaft 14. The shaftHB6 is mounted in a bracket 112'secured by screws 114 to the housing 84.

-By the above described construction, it will beseen that sincevirtually all of the chopping cutter vdriving mechanism is mounted inthe housing 84, it is extremely easy to remove the entire assembly. Byremoving the belt 110, the housing SLlmay be pivoted upwardly about thelstud 88 to gain access to the trimming knife 2. vFurthermore, by theremoval of the stud 88 the housing'8`4 and all of the structure mountedthereon maybe completelyremoved from the machine.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim fasl new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent vof the United States is:

l. Ina shoe trimming machine, a rotary cuppedtrimming `knife forsevering surplus material from a shoe in strips, and means within theknife for chopping the strips into small chips for easy removal from themachine.

2. In a shoe trimming machine, a rotarycuppedtrimming knife for severingsurplus material from a Vshoe in strips, and means within the knifeforchopping the strips into small chips after the surplus portion hasbeensevered from the shoe but before it is removed from themachine.

3. ln'a shoe trimming machine having a rotary cupped trimming knife forsevering surplus material from azshoe in strips, a shear block withinthe knife and a: multi-blade chopping cutter cooperating therewith vforchopping'the strips into small chips for easyremoval from themachine.

4. In a machine having a rotary cupped trimming knife for severingstrips of surplus material from a Vpartially fabricated shoe, a choppingcutter rotatable within the trimming knife for chopping said stripsintosmall chips, and a waste removal conduit positioned `adjacent-'saidknife for removing the chips therefrom.

5. In an inseam trimming machine, arrotarycupped trimming knife'forsevering surplus LinseamLmaterialxinto str ips, means for'feeding andguidingza shoe to a`trimnungz point .on the Vperiphery 4of theknife, a.shear block' positioned inwardly of the knife adjacent the cutting pointand engageable with the severed strip, and a chopping cutter cooperatingwith the shear block to chop the strip into small chips for easy removalfrom the machine.

6. In an inseam trimming machine having a cupped trimming knife forsevering surplus inseam material into strips, means for rotating theknife about a rst axis, means for feeding and guiding a shoe to atrimming point on the periphery of the knife, means for chopping thestrips into small chips for easy removal from the machine comprising lachopping cutter Within the knife, and means for rotating said cutterabout a second axis substantially parallel with .said first axis withthe cutter maintained close to the inner periphery of the knife adjacentsaid trimming point. l

7. In an inseam trimming machine having a cupped trimming knife forsevering surplus inseam material into strips, means for rotating theknife about a rst axis, means for feeding and guiding a shoe to atrimming point on the periphery of the knife, means for chopping thestrips into small chips for easy removal from the machine comprising achopping cutter within the knife, a shear block positioned within theknife adjacent said trimming point for cooperating with said cutter, andmeans for rotating said cutter about a second axis substantiallyparallel with said rst axis and in operative relation to the shearblock.

8. In an inseam 'trimming machine having a cupped trimming knife forsevering surplus inseam material .into strips,kmeans for rotating theknife about a rst axis, means for feeding and guiding a shoe to atrimming point on the periphery of the knife, means for chopping thestrips -into small chips for easy removal from the machine comprising achopping cutter within the knife, and means for rotating said cutterabout a second axis substantially parallel with said rst axis with thecutter maintained close to the inner periphery of the knife adjacentsaid trimming point, and a waste removal conduit positioned adjacent theknife for removing the chips therefrom.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,226,872 Eppler May 22, 1917 1,974,487 Eppler Sept. 25, 1934 2,497,155Davis Feb. 14, 1950

